“Belonging is an intrinsic human need. As an organization comprising of members with very different offices and backgrounds, it is important to come together through our shared commitment to excellence in public service, and provide the best services we can to our communities.”
- Timothy Grisham, WACO Deputy Director
It’s wild to think that just six years ago the concept of coming together was incredibly different. Pre-COVID, a hybrid or virtual conference was more of an outlier. Reserved for large-scale corporations with offices across states and countries, hybrid events were associated with the tech industry in general. You know, folks that actually had the knowledge of how to put one on!
While the global switch to virtual and hybrid platforms came from necessity, to follow lock-down guidance and social distancing policies, as half a decade passed by, they became more of the general standard. Whether your office uses Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or any of the other major platforms to host virtual meetings and events, there’s no doubt that we’ve all become familiar with the various applications. (Although, people still seem to struggle finding the un-mute button from time to time…)
Certain figures estimate that during the pandemic, the number of teleworkers in the US increased from 8% to 35%, with meetings on the Zoom platform increasing from 10 million to over 300 million daily. Of course, WACO was a part of that growing number of Zoom meetings – pivoting to connect with our members through virtual trainings, webinars, and specialized online gatherings to keep leaders throughout the state connected and thriving.
During the pandemic, the WACO team was busy. Based on affiliate type and county size, WACO Executive Director Jennifer Wallace hosted Zoom meetings regularly with varied members - meetings that many members have said got them through a time of profound professional isolation. WACO Deputy Director Timothy Grisham made a bold move to shift the majority of WACO education programing to a virtual delivery, and to begin the framework for a robust education hub that members could access 24/7. From every side, WACO’s leadership team moved to meet the growing needs of a membership that could not come together in physical space.
In late 2020, WACO hosted its first fully virtual annual conference. The event was a fantastic opportunity for many officials to reconnect at a time when stress was still boiling over in the communities they served. The 2020 conference theme, We’re All In This Together, really captured the spirit of support that many needed. And, importantly, it opened a larger discussion that would shape WACO’s future conferences indefinitely – a discussion about accessibility.
As concepts of “high-risk” became normalized, many organizations, WACO included, became more cognizant that the individuals that made them great may have been facing barriers to connecting in truly deep ways. That awareness was made more intense by the idea that those specific barriers (health of self and close loved ones) had existed long before the pandemic and had simply not been discussed as openly. Already, WACO’s leadership was gearing up to make sure that future conferences could be more accessible to those members that needed it.
Compounding those already great revelations, was the data that was gathered from 2020’s breakthrough virtual conference… more attendance from small counties than ever before! WACO’s Deputy Director Timothy Grisham shared why, in addition to general accessibility to the individual, WACO eagerly embraced the hybrid set-up for the annual conference - and why the availability of virtual tune-in is important to WACO leadership overall.
“Travel and time away from the office is always an issue in local government. Historically, this has disproportionately affected small counties more. So it is important to offer avenues of engagement to our members, no matter the size of their county or office budget.”
From that first 2020 conference onward, WACO has worked to make almost all full membership events available in a hybrid form. There have been learning curves and bumps along the way, but the data does not lie – attendance at WACO’s annual conference has grown nearly 95% since 2020, with 23% of attendees tuning in virtually in 2024. As more members continue to attend, we depend on the audio/visual teams at our venues to help us produce the most valuable experience to our members possible. This year’s provider, Riverside Dave, is a Tri-Cities local that has helped many groups connect with their audiences far and wide. Dave feels strongly about making sure events can get to the people that need them. This event in particular, is one he’s happy to be a part of.
“I have a huge sense of pride in being able to help provide this kind of platform for local government officials to connect and learn. Channeling my passion for audio visual work in a way that helps leaders throughout Washington State become even better at serving their communities truly feels like an accomplishment.”
With many WACO conferences ahead of us, we hope to continue to partner with great industry providers to bring this important event to our full membership. From the Whova platform that has allowed county officials throughout the state to engage in forums focused on issues and solutions, to the audio/visual teams like Riverside Dave’s that help us connect with Zoom seamlessly, WACO always strives to work with others to make sure that you, our members, can make Time to Lead.
---------
Thank you to Riverside Dave for helping make this year's event a success.
